Objective:to develop a prototype of a computerized scale for the active search for potential
organ and tissue donors. Method:methodological study, with the analysis of 377 electronic medical records of
patients who died due to encephalic death or cardiorespiratory arrest in the
intensive care units of a tertiary hospital. Among the deaths due to
cardiorespiratory arrest, the study aimed to identify factors indicating
underreported encephalic death cases. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health
Evaluation II and Sepsis Related Organ Failure Assessment severity indexes were
applied in the protocols. Based on this, a scale was built and sent to five
experts for assessment of the scale content, and subsequently, it was computerized
by using a prototyping model. Results:34 underreported encephalic death cases were identified in the medical records of
patients with cardiorespiratory arrest. Statistically significant differences were
found in the Wilcoxon test between the scores of hospital admissions in the
intensive care unit and the opening of the encephalic death protocol for both
severity indexes. Conclusion:the prototype was effective for identifying potential organ donors, as well as for
the identification of the degree of organ dysfunction in patients with encephalic
death.